Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Imaging systems typically have a fixed field of view. In practical use, when working with natural scenes, it may be desirable to modify a field of view of the imaging system to bring elements of the scene that are of interest into the picture. A field of view may be related to a focal length of the imaging system (field of view and focal length are sometimes used interchangeably). A change of the field of view of the imaging system is sometimes referred to as zoom and a resulting focal length of the imaging system is referred to as a zoom setting.
Traditional zoom-capable imaging devices (still cameras, camcorders) typically adjust the field of view by moving internal elements of a camera lens along the optical axis of the assembly. A camera lens is an optical lens or an assembly of lenses used with a camera body to capture images of objects. In some examples, example camera lens may include a lens assembly that is within an optical path of an imager die, and is coupled to an actuator to change a field of view setting of the lens assembly within the optical path. The actuator coupled to the lens assembly may consume power to accomplish the change in field of view. The actuator may continue to consume power to retain the lens assembly in the field of view setting. In some examples, an additional actuator or actuators may be used to change the focus setting of the optical assembly.